POTPAT - About the project

Project financed by Norwegian funds in the frame of Polish-Norwegian Research Program

Title: Potato pathogen populations in changing climatic conditions of Norway and Poland and the mechanisms of their interaction with host

Acronym: POTPAT

Duration: 01.08.2013-31.07.2016

Number: Pol-Nor/202448/28/2013

Program Operator: National Centre for Research and Development

Introduction

The potato is one of the most important crop worldwide. The annual potato harvest in Poland is estimated at 8 700 000 tons, while 321 100 tons were produced in Norway in 2010. Climate change has a significant impact on agriculture today, especially on plant pathogens.

The project will focus on the two important pathogens of potato: Phytophthora infestans causing late blight and bacteria Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. causing black leg and soft rot

of tubers. Chemical protection against late blight is expensive and has a negative impact for the natural environment. However, for bacterial diseases there are no chemical and biological methods

of protection, therefore the only solution is production of disease–free seeds.